Connector structure



Sept. 5, 1939.

R. J. SUTTON CONNECTOR STRUCTURE Filed Dec; 24, 1937 Inventor: RoberbJ-Sutton, by cf,-

His Attorneg- V Patented Sept,5, 1939- UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE? v I {commerce STRUCTURE:

Robert I. Sutton, Chicago, ni, assignor to Edison General Electric Appliance Company, Inc., OhicagmIlL, a corporation New York Application December-"24 1931, Serial No. 181,557

Electric ovens and like heating devices are oftentimes provided with a heating unit that is v removable. In such cases the heating unit is provided with bayonet-type terminals which when.

the unit is applied to the oven, or other heating device, are received in contact clips-that have jaws arranged in pairsbetween which the termill nals are received. 1

This invention contemplates an improved connector structure having a contact clip that is,

' simple, sturdy and inexpensive in its construction; in which thejaws are strong, relatively massite and substantially inflexible; 'and in which the jaws are yieldingl'y related to each other by a spring in such a way that they engage the terwith arelatively great contact pressure, but oil'er little resistance to the insertion and reu movaloi the'jerminal, In addition," it is' contemplated that the spring will be located in coldest part of the assembly, and will carry buta small part of. the'current.

' In accordance with this invention, the jaws I0 each contact 'clip'are-provided with base mem- ,l bers, each oi-which is at afi'angle to its .jaw so that the base members are'directed away iromieach o'ther. It is contemplated that the base members shall be arranged at a-relatively lllarge angle to each other, such 'as 180 or some-- what less. Bigidly secured to the sections is a sheet-like spring member Whi0h' i8 so arranged that it biases the two Jaws toward each other. Cooperating with this spring in mber are 40 means for varyingits effect when th bayonetn liketerminal is-inserted in the jawsso-as to re duce; the'pressure oi the-spring on the Jaws,

and thereby reduce the cc oi the'jaws to the insertion of the u s 45 "For a more complete understanding otthis invention, reference should be had to the accompanying dra in which 1 is a side elevation oi an el' tric range vided'with an oven having terminal structure embodyingthis inven- 50 tion; Fig. 2 is anenlarged plan view of terminal structirreflatranged in accordance with this inventionand used in the electric range of Fig. 1,

parts being broken away so-as to illustrate certain detailsoi construction; Fig. 3 is an amused ll. frasm nt y'sectional view 01' a part or the electrlc range oi Fig. 1. illustrating the terminal structure in section through the line I--I pi Fig.

2 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 is a view similar to 'Fig. 3 but-illustrating a terminal inserted in the' contact-clip; and Fig. 5 is g. a perspective view illustrating contact clipjaws i assembled with their biasing spring all-in accordance with this invention, I Referring to the drawing, this-invention has i been shownas applied to an, electric range II 101 having an oven H. the oven is provided a removable heating element l2 which is provided. with a contact structure ll arranged in accordance with this invention. The contact structure l3 comprises a terminal block or housing. ll 16 formed of any suitable electrically insulating material such as porcelain. The housing'has-a 'rec- .tangular base Ha, and a. relatively smallerpork U tion 14b projecting from thebase and-having elongated oval shape. so

,As sh'own,'the oven will. preferably be'iormed with inner and outer linings "and it between which a' suitable layer ll of thermal material will be placed. .The block is arranged so' that its Portion la is inserted through anaperture ll formed in the oven wall that comprises the two linings II and II and the insulating layer", as clearly shown'in Figs.

1,?3 and 4. The base llais secured to theoven by means or screws l9 directed through apertures" so providedlfor'them in the four of the.

The insulator is pnovided with a plurality of parallel spaced. chambers 2.. Received in'each of-these chambersffl is a clip structure 2| comprising a pair of opposed jaws .22 formed of-a strong relatively inflexible material, such ascold rolled strip steel. The jaws :22 are provided-with base sections 23 arranged at .a'n angle to the jaw sections as clearly shown. Preferably, the base 40 sections will be arrangedat an angle of substantially 90 to thetjawisetions 22; In the preferred .7 form, :however, the angle will be somewhat larger than il0,= such as 102,jso that two base sections a 23 fol-man angle less than 180 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.- It is to be understood, however, that this angle may be somewhat less than,90. The

jaw sectional! at theirfends-fopposite the base 4 sections are flared-outwardly, as shown, tofacili tate the insertion of a bayonet-like terminal member 24 carrledbythe heating unit i2. .Each

chamber 20 has an opening 20a presented to the v heating chamber ii and through which the .ter-.-

The base sectionszt are risid vsecured to:

isof a highly flexible, strong, heat resisting material, such as a suitable alloy spring steel. One of the base sections Zt'is relatively elongated as shown and this section receives a binding screw 26 to which the electrical supply connections 21! (Fig. 1) are attached.

A convenient way of assembling the spring 25 with the jaws 22 so that the spring is placed under proper tensionto bias the jaws togethu is to place between the jaws a spacer member having about the same thickness as the terminal 2%. Then preferably the spring 25 of initially flat sheet-like form is bowed substantially to its position shown in Fig. 4 and is secured to the base section. 23 in themanner previously describedp that is, by welding Then when the spacer member is removed, the spring will retain its bowed position, as shown in Fig. 3, due to the fact that it has been rigidly secured to the angulariy arranged end sections 2%.

The base sections 23 are received in recesses 21 arranged cross-wise of the base Ma. of the housing, as shown. Within the upper recesses, as viewed in Figs. 3 and 4, are deeper recesses 29 which provide room for the binding screws 26.

Intersecting the recesses 21 is an elongated longitudinal recess 30 in which is placed an elongated flat member 3i formed of a suitable electrically insulating material, such as fiber. As shown, this member 3! is positioned opposite the springs 25 of the clip members. This member- 3! acts as a bearing for the clips when the terminals 2d are inserted. That is, this member is so related to the spring that its side edges form knife-edge or line contact across spring 25 at a section between; but away from, the two welded ends. These edges act as fulcrums for the 23 of the jaws members about which the bases rotate as the jaws 22 are being separated. When pressure or a force is applied to the terminal to move it into the jaws 22 these fulcrum knife edges react against the spring 25 causing it to deflect upwardly, thus reducing the pressure on the jaws. However, once the terminals have been applied, the downward force or pressure on v the j aws is relieved and the entire spring strength is the'navailable to bias the jaws together; in other, words, the jaws are biased together by a relatively large force which insures a good electrical contact between the jaws and the terminal 2d.

Also; it will be observed that the spring members 25 are located at a point relatively removedfrom the mouths of the jaws that receive the terminals, and so, areflexed but veryslightly while the jaws 22 are moveda relatively great distance apart by the bayonet-like members 24.

This eflects a considerable degree 'of flexibility,

for a small movement of the spring member. The bearing member at is secured within'it's "recess 30 by means of a cover member 32 also and inflexible jaws which is of a distinct advantage in that jaws of this character reduce relatively high temperature conditions at the surfaces in contact.

The removal of the springs 25 from the jaws and locating them in the base places the springs in substantially the coldest part of the contact clip structure, and furthermore, places the springs in that part of the clip structure where but very little current is carried. The proportion of the current carried by the springs 25 is further reduced by forming the springs of a high resistance material, and by giving them a relatively small cross section.

-While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will be understood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto since many-modiflcations may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A connector structure comprising a pair of relatively massive substantially inflexible jaws arranged opposite each other to receive a terminal between them, the jaws being flared outwardly at one end to facilitate the insertion of the terminal. and a resilient member rigidly secured to the jaws at the other end so as to bias said flared ends together and to yieldingly reslst their separation by the terminal.

2. A connector structure comprising a .con-

tact clip for a bayonet-type terminal comprising a pair of opposed jaws formed of a relatively massive and inflexible metal and arranged to receive said terminal between them, and having bases directed away from each other, and a; relatively thin, mechanically strong spring having its ends rigidly secured to the bases. of said jaws to unite the jaws mechanically and to yieldingly hold them together.

3. A connector structure comprising a contact clip for a bayonet type terminal comprising a pair of relatively rigid opposed jaw portions ar-' ranged to receive said terminal between them, bases on said jaw portions directed away from each other, a single. sheet-like resilient member having its end sections covering substantial. areas of said bases on the sides oppositesaid .law portions, and means rigidly securing said end sections to said sides.

4. A connector structure comprising a contact clip having a pair of opposed relatively rigid jaws arranged to receive a bayonet-type terminal between them, each jaw having a base section arranged at an angle somewhat greater than 90 to the jaw so that the two base sections form an angle of somewhat less than 180 with each other, and a sheet-like resilient member having its end sections secured to said bases to how the,

resilient member and cause it to resiliently force said jaws toward each other.

5. A connector structure comprising a contact clip having a pair of opposed relatively massive and substantially inflexible jaws arranged to receive a bayonet-type terminal between them, each jaw having a base section arranged at an angle somewhat greater than 90 to the jaw so that the two base sections 'form an angleof somewhat less than 180 yzith eachother, and an flat spring having its end sections secured to said bases to how the spring and cause it to resiliently force said jaws toward each other.

6. A-connector structure a contact clip !or. a bayonet-type terminal comprising a pair oi opposed jaws arranged to receive said terminal between them, and having bases directed away from each other, a spring having its ends rigidly secured to the bases of said jaws to unite the jaws-mechanically and yieldingiy hold them together, and means responsive to the force applied by said terminal on said jaws as it is being inserted reducing the pressure eiiect of said spring on each of said jaw members as the terminal is inserted, and restoring said pressure effeet of said spring after said terminal has been inserted.

7. A connector structure comprising a-contact clip tor a bayonet-type terminal comprising a pair of relatively rigid opposed jaw portions arranged to receive said terminal between them, and having bases directed away from each other,

a single sheet-like resilient member having its stantiai angle to each other, a spring having its ends securedto said bases to bias the jaws together, and an insulating bearing member having a pair 01' spaced edges adapted to have line contact with the sections of said spring between itssecured ends. g

9. A connector structure comprising an insulating support having a chamber, a contact clip in said chamber having opposed jaws to receive between them a bayonet-type terminal, the jaws having base sections arranged at a substantial angle to each other, a sheet-like spring having its ends secured to said bases to bias the jaws together, a ilat insulating member opposite said spring with its edges adapted to have line contact with sections of said spring between its secured ends, and said insulating support having a recessed section to receive and position said flat insulating member.

10. A connector structure comprising a contact clip for a bayonet-type terminal comprising a pair 01' opposed jaws arranged to receive the terminal between them, base sections on said jaws, a spring having its ends rigidly secured tosaid base sections to unite the jaws mechanically and yieldingly holdthem together, and means reducing the pressure efiect of said spring on said jaw members only as the terminal is being inserted between said jaws to reduce the resistance of the jaws to the insertion of the terminal.

ROBERT J. SUTTON.- 

